Use the discussion tab to post your answer to each of the three questions below.
//Who should decide what constitutes acceptable business practices and unacceptable working conditions?
Can an industrial economy succeed without taking advantage of those who do the work?//
"What is the chief end of man?—to get rich. In what way?—dishonestly if we can; honestly if we must." Mark Twain (1871)
Do you agree with Twain that that man's primary end, or goal, is to get rich and that mankind is willing to be dishonest in order to achieve our goal? Use specific * --
The Rich and the Poor
Two important figures of the Industrial Revolution were Andrew Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Consider the two quotes attributed to them and read the biographical information found in the links below. Use the Venn Diagram below to summarize the similarities and differences of the two men.
This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of wealth: First, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; … and, after doing so, to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer… to produce the most beneficial results for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the mere trustee and agent for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves
—From "Wealth," by Andrew Carnegie, North American Review (1889)
"Law? Who cares about the law. Hain't I got the power?"
—Comment alleged to have been made by Cornelius Vanderbilt, when warned that he might be violating the law
"And do the poor pay anything back? Do they pay any taxes? No. They don't pay a thing. They contribute nothing to this country. They do nothing but take from it. There are people who are putting into this economy. There are people who are working hard every day, playing by the rules and contributing. They are the givers. Who are the takers? The poor. Limbaugh, Rush. The Way Things Ought to Be. 1992. p. 40.
August 30, 2005
The Census Bureau released its annual report today about poverty, income, and health insurance coverage. Analysts were startled to see poverty rise by 1.1 million people from 2003 to 2004, despite some indicators of economic growth during that period. The number of people without health insurance also rose, from 45 million in 2003 to 45.8 million in 2004. Poverty and lack of health insurance have been growing worse since 2000.
==From these selected passages, it is evident that the poor in American continue to be a "problem." Your generation is going to have to contend with this issue. What are your views on solving the "war on poverty." Is welfare the answer? What does your generation need to do to prepare? Use the discussion button to post your answer.
==
Reading Strategy:
Understanding words in context.
Using the context clues in the passage below explain the meaning of "pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps."
What does "enterprise" mean?
The theory of Social Darwinism promoted the theory that success and failure in the marketplace and the business world were governed by natural law. Those who were the most capable would survive and flourish while those who were poor deserve their fate because they were "genetically disposed" to be lazy and inferior; therefore, they deserved to be poor. Social Darwinism also believed that riches were God's blessings upon those who deserved them.
"Self-justification by the wealthy inevitably involved contempt for the poor. Many of the rich, especially the newly rich, had pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps; hence they concluded that those who stayed poor must be lazy and lacking in enterprise. The Reverend Russell Conwell of Philadelphia became rich by delivering his lecture 'Acres of Diamonds' thousands of times. In it he said, 'There is not a poor person in the United States who was not made poor by his own shortcomings.' Such attitudes were a formidable roadblock to social reform." Source
Essential Questions and Big Ideas:
Use the discussion tab to post your answer to each of the three questions below.
The Rich and the Poor
Two important figures of the Industrial Revolution were Andrew Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Consider the two quotes attributed to them and read the biographical information found in the links below. Use the Venn Diagram below to summarize the similarities and differences of the two men.
This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of wealth: First, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; … and, after doing so, to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer… to produce the most beneficial results for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the mere trustee and agent for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves
—From "Wealth," by Andrew Carnegie, North American Review (1889)
Biography of Andrew Carnegie
"Law? Who cares about the law. Hain't I got the power?"
—Comment alleged to have been made by Cornelius Vanderbilt, when warned that he might be violating the law
Biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt
"And do the poor pay anything back? Do they pay any taxes? No. They don't pay a thing. They contribute nothing to this country. They do nothing but take from it. There are people who are putting into this economy. There are people who are working hard every day, playing by the rules and contributing. They are the givers. Who are the takers? The poor. Limbaugh, Rush. The Way Things Ought to Be. 1992. p. 40.
August 30, 2005
The Census Bureau released its annual report today about poverty, income, and health insurance coverage. Analysts were startled to see poverty rise by 1.1 million people from 2003 to 2004, despite some indicators of economic growth during that period. The number of people without health insurance also rose, from 45 million in 2003 to 45.8 million in 2004. Poverty and lack of health insurance have been growing worse since 2000.
==From these selected passages, it is evident that the poor in American continue to be a "problem." Your generation is going to have to contend with this issue. What are your views on solving the "war on poverty." Is welfare the answer? What does your generation need to do to prepare? Use the discussion button to post your answer.
==
Reading Strategy:
Understanding words in context.
Using the context clues in the passage below explain the meaning of "pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps."What does "enterprise" mean?
The theory of Social Darwinism promoted the theory that success and failure in the marketplace and the business world were governed by natural law. Those who were the most capable would survive and flourish while those who were poor deserve their fate because they were "genetically disposed" to be lazy and inferior; therefore, they deserved to be poor. Social Darwinism also believed that riches were God's blessings upon those who deserved them.
"Self-justification by the wealthy inevitably involved contempt for the poor. Many of the rich, especially the newly rich, had pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps; hence they concluded that those who stayed poor must be lazy and lacking in enterprise. The Reverend Russell Conwell of Philadelphia became rich by delivering his lecture 'Acres of Diamonds' thousands of times. In it he said, 'There is not a poor person in the United States who was not made poor by his own shortcomings.' Such attitudes were a formidable roadblock to social reform." Source